Upcoming hysterectomy: Awake intubation

I'm having a laparoscopic hysterectomy on May 14th. Because of my sleep apnea I need to be intubated awake. Has anyone else had this done before? I'm super nervous. I usualy have anxiety, but it's in overdrive now. Any suggestions to feel less nervous?

Hi shaunalk03 to HysterSisters!

All of your fears, nerves, feelings and anxiety are completely normal. This is a difficult surgery to face and digest.

I have not heard of awake intubation. My guess is they will give you something there that will help you relax.

In the meantime, it helps to keep very busy for dealing with nerves before surgery. Super clean your house (you won't be doing that for some time after surgery), make meals for the freezer that you can just pop in the microwave. Here are 10 Tips for Preparing for Your Hysterectomy. Be sure to click on the related articles.

Also know that you are not alone in this. We are here for you, and understand what you are going through.

Although I haven't had this done awake, I have family members who have. They were given meds for it such that they remembered nothing about it, so it was not a bad experience at all. Perhaps someone with personal experience can also weigh in but Ii was relieved to hear how it went in case I were to need it myself.

I did not have awake intubation. However, I did have an epidural. I was given IV medication prior to the doc inserting the epidural. I can distinctly remember when I "fell asleep." Only, I wasn't asleep... Just that the meds, which provide forgetfulness, kicked in.

I would imagine this is exactly what will happen for you. However, as with anything else regarding your surgery, if you've any questions, call your surgeon's office and ask for more information or greater detail. Keep asking until you have a sufficient amount of information to help you feel more in control.

Best of luck on your surgery.
- TxAmy

Did they tell you why having sleep apnea required you to be intubated while awake? I have sleep apnea and was not intubated while awake. (I'm assuming you have obstructive sleep apnea and not central.)

Your right I have osa. I am also very overweight, and they said something like my neck is realy big, so it would be harder to intubate. They said I am a "very high risk" intubation, so they want to do it awake to minimize the chance for complications

On a former surgery I woke up while they were trying to intubate me. They were having issues due to the roof of my mouth being irregularly shaped. I could hear them talking and explaining to the surgeon about what was going on but I felt nothing. So I was literally awake during the entire intubation and they hadn't planned on that happening. They numb your throat even when you are asleep. They will also give you something in your IV that makes you very relaxed and sleepy.